My Mother's Rose Garden

My mother has grown roses in the same small backyard for forty years. There are sixty-two bushes. Each one has a name, and each name has a story.

"Peace" was the first one she planted, the year she married my father. "Mr. Lincoln" was a gift from her mother. "Double Delight" was planted the day I was born. A climbing rose called "New Dawn" covers the back fence; she planted it when we moved into the house, and it's now taller than the garage.

Every June, when they all bloom at once, she invites the neighborhood over for "Rose Sunday." She serves lemonade and cookies and walks people through the garden, telling the story of every bush.

This year, she gave me a cutting from "Double Delight" to plant in my own yard. It's rooted. It has two buds. I've already started telling its story.